Generation and distribution of named, definable, serialized tokens

ABSTRACT

A method for generating and distributing serialized tokens is provided. The method may include receiving a request from at least one client. The method may further include determining whether the received at least one request is a request for generating names and definitions for a group of serialized tokens, deleting a names and definitions, and/or receiving a group of serialized tokens. Additionally, the method may include enabling the at least one client to generate names and definitions for a group of serialized tokens. The method may also include storing the names and definitions on a server. The method may also include deleting the names and definitions from the server. The method may also include formatting and distributing serialized tokens based on the names and definitions for the serialized tokens. The method may further include sending a response to the client based on the received request.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, andmore specifically, to serialized tokens.

Generally, in application and software development, tokens may begenerated to enable such actions as communication between servers andclients. Typically, tokens are generated based on a specific format andare unique. Serialized tokens are tokens that are typically generatedincrementally, or in a series, based on a specific format. Furthermore,the generation of serialized and unique tokens often occurs in a dynamicenvironment, with multiple concurrent client tasks demanding serializedand unique tokens simultaneously. A common process to client demands ofserialized tokens is to use servers to format and generate theserialized tokens and incrementally distribute the serialized tokens asrequested by clients so that no two tasks are provided the sameserialized token. For example, servers may define the format of theserialized tokens and distribute the tokens incrementally, such asLog-001, Log-002, and Log-003 . . . , to clients as the clients requestthe tokens to perform software tasks.

SUMMARY

A method for generating and distributing a plurality of serializedtokens is provided. The method may include receiving at least onerequest from at least one client. The method may further includereceiving at least one request from at least one client. The method mayalso include determining whether the received at least one request is arequest for generating at least one name and at least one definition fora group of serialized tokens. The method may further include, inresponse to the determination that the received at least one request isa request for generating the at least one name and the at least onedefinition for the group of serialized tokens, enabling the at least oneclient to generate the at least one name and the at least one definitionfor the group of serialized tokens. Additionally, the method may includestoring the generated at least one name and the generated at least onedefinition on at least one server. The method may also includedetermining whether the received at least one request is a request fordeleting at least one second name and at least one second definition fora second group of serialized tokens. The method may further include, inresponse to the determination that the received at least one request isa request to delete the at least one second name and the at least onesecond definition for the second group of serialized tokens, deletingthe at least one second name and the at least one second definition forthe second group of serialized tokens from the at least one server. Themethod may also include determining whether the received at least onerequest is a request for receiving the second group of serialized tokensbased on the at least one second name and the at least one seconddefinition. The method may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request forreceiving the second group of serialized tokens, formatting anddistributing the second group of serialized tokens based on the at leastone second name and the at least one second definition. The method mayalso include sending a response to the client based on the received atleast one request.

A computer system for generating and distributing a plurality serializedtokens is provided. The computer system may include one or moreprocessors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices, and program instructionsstored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for executionby at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of theone or more memories, whereby the computer system is capable ofperforming a method. The method may include receiving at least onerequest from at least one client. The method may also includedetermining whether the received at least one request is a request forgenerating at least one name and at least one definition for a group ofserialized tokens. The method may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request forgenerating the at least one name and the at least one definition for thegroup of serialized tokens, enabling the at least one client to generatethe at least one name and the at least one definition for the group ofserialized tokens. Additionally, the method may include storing thegenerated at least one name and the generated at least one definition onat least one server. The method may also include determining whether thereceived at least one request is a request for deleting at least onesecond name and at least one second definition for a second group ofserialized tokens. The method may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request todelete the at least one second name and the at least one seconddefinition for the second group of serialized tokens, deleting the atleast one second name and the at least one second definition for thesecond group of serialized tokens from the at least one server. Themethod may also include determining whether the received at least onerequest is a request for receiving the second group of serialized tokensbased on the at least one second name and the at least one seconddefinition. The method may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request forreceiving the second group of serialized tokens, formatting anddistributing the second group of serialized tokens based on the at leastone second name and the at least one second definition. The method mayalso include sending a response to the client based on the received atleast one request.

A computer program product for enabling at least one user interfacedisplay field to perform at least one action is provided. The computerprogram product may include one or more computer-readable storagedevices and program instructions stored on at least one of the one ormore tangible storage devices, the program instructions executable by aprocessor. The computer program product may include program instructionsto receive at least one request from at least one client. The computerprogram product may also include program instructions to determinewhether the received at least one request is a request for generating atleast one name and at least one definition for a group of serializedtokens. The computer program product may further include, in response tothe determination that the received at least one request is a requestfor generating the at least one name and the at least one definition forthe group of serialized tokens, program instructions to enable the atleast one client to generate the at least one name and the at least onedefinition for the group of serialized tokens. Additionally, thecomputer program product may include program instructions to store thegenerated at least one name and the generated at least one definition onat least one server. The computer program product may also includeprogram instructions to determine whether the received at least onerequest is a request for deleting at least one second name and at leastone second definition for a second group of serialized tokens. Thecomputer program product may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request todelete the at least one second name and the at least one seconddefinition for the second group of serialized tokens, programinstructions to delete the at least one second name and the at least onesecond definition for the second group of serialized tokens from the atleast one server. The computer program product may also include programinstructions to determine whether the received at least one request is arequest for receiving the second group of serialized tokens based on theat least one second name and the at least one second definition. Thecomputer program product may further include, in response to thedetermination that the received at least one request is a request forreceiving the second group of serialized tokens, program instructions toformat and distribute the second group of serialized tokens based on theat least one second name and the at least one second definition. Thecomputer program product may further include program instructions tosend a response to the client based on the received at least onerequest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings arenot to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating oneskilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction withthe detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart illustrating the steps carried out bya program for generating and distributing serialized tokens according toone embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the system architecture of a program forgenerating and distributing serialized tokens according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known featuresand techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresented embodiments.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field ofcomputing, and more particularly, to serialized tokens. The followingdescribed exemplary embodiments provide a system, method and programproduct for generating and distributing serialized tokens. Therefore,the present embodiment has the capacity to improve the technical fieldassociated with serialized tokens by enabling clients to name and defineserialized tokens. Specifically, the present embodiment may enableclients, instead of servers, to name and define the format forserialized tokens, store the named and defined format for the serializedtokens on servers, and request distribution of the named and definedserialized tokens on demand based on the format definitions.

As previously described with respect to serialized tokens, serverscommonly dictate set formats for generating serialized tokens andincrementally distributing the serialized tokens at clients' requests.However, having servers dictate the generation and distribution ofserialized tokens is limiting. Certain aspects, such as the life-cycleof the serialized token, may be controlled by the server. Furthermore,applications may have code for token generation and supply, which meansthat the same sort of code may be written over and over. However, therequired format generated by the server may be different. As such, itmay be advantageous, among other things, to provide a system, method andprogram product for enabling client-side devices to generate and controldistribution of serialized tokens. Specifically, the system, method andprogram product may enable clients to name formats associated withserialized tokens so that the number of potential formats is onlylimited by the possible number of names, control the format of theserialized tokens consumed by the clients, control the life-cycle ofserialized tokens, and create different formats for serialized tokens.

According to at least one implementation of the present embodiment,requests for serialized tokens may be received. Next, whether thereceived requests are for creating names and definitions for serializedtokens may be determined. Then, if the received requests are forcreating names and definitions for serialized tokens, the clients maycreate the names and definitions for serialized tokens and store thenames and definitions on server databases. Next, if the receivedrequests are not for creating names and definitions for serializedtokens, whether the received requests are for deleting names anddefinitions for serialized tokens may be determined. Then, if thereceived requests are for deleting the names and definitions forserializes tokens, the stored names and definitions for serializedtokens on the server databases may be deleted. Next, if the receivedrequests are not for deleting the names and definitions for serializedtokens, whether the received requests are for requesting serializedtokens based on the names and definitions may be determined. Then, ifthe received requests are for requesting serialized tokens based on thenames and definitions, the stored names may be read and the serializedtokens may be formatted and retrieved based on the stored definitions.Next, replies may be sent according to the performed action.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for generating and distributing serialized tokens.

According to at least one implementation, requests for serialized tokensmay be received. Next, whether the received requests are for creatingnames and definitions for serialized tokens may be determined. Then, ifthe received requests are for creating names and definitions forserialized tokens, the clients may create the names and definitions forserialized tokens and store the names and definitions on serverdatabases. Next, if the received requests are not for creating names anddefinitions for serialized tokens, whether the received requests are fordeleting names and definitions for serialized tokens may be determined.Then, if the received requests are for deleting the names anddefinitions for serializes tokens, the stored names and definitions forserialized tokens on the server databases may be deleted. Next, if thereceived requests are not for deleting the names and definitions forserialized tokens, whether the received requests are for requestingserialized tokens based on the names and definitions may be determined.Then, if the received requests are for requesting serialized tokensbased on the names and definitions, the stored names may be read and theserialized tokens may be formatted and retrieved based on the storeddefinitions. Next, replies may be sent according to the performedaction.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computer environment 100in accordance with one embodiment is depicted. The networked computerenvironment 100 may include a computer 102 with a processor 104 and adata storage device 106 that is enabled to run a token generation anddistribution program 108A and a software program 114. The softwareprogram 114 may be an application program such as an internet browserand an email program. The token generation and distribution program 108Amay communicate with the software program 114. The networked computerenvironment 100 may also include a server 112 that is enabled to run atoken generation and distribution program 108B and a communicationnetwork 110. The networked computer environment 100 may include aplurality of computers 102 and servers 112, only one of which is shownfor illustrative brevity.

According to at least one implementation, the present embodiment mayalso include a database 116, which may be running on server 112. Thecommunication network 110 may include various types of communicationnetworks, such as a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), atelecommunication network, a wireless network, a public switched networkand/or a satellite network. It may be appreciated that FIG. 1 providesonly an illustration of one implementation and does not imply anylimitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

The client computer 102 may communicate with server computer 112 via thecommunications network 110. The communications network 110 may includeconnections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber opticcables. As will be discussed with reference to FIG. 3, server computer112 may include internal components 800 a and external components 900 a,respectively and client computer 102 may include internal components 800b and external components 900 b, respectively. Server computer 112 mayalso operate in a cloud computing service model, such as Software as aService (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as aService (IaaS). Server 112 may also be located in a cloud computingdeployment model, such as a private cloud, community cloud, publiccloud, or hybrid cloud. Client computer 102 may be, for example, amobile device, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, a netbook, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or any type ofcomputing device capable of running a program and accessing a network.According to various implementations of the present embodiment, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B may interact with adatabase 116 that may be embedded in various storage devices, such as,but not limited to a mobile device 102, a networked server 112, or acloud storage service.

According to the present embodiment, a program, such as a tokengeneration and distribution program 108A and 108B may run on the clientcomputer 102 or on the server computer 112 via a communications network110. The token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B may enableclients to control the generation and formatting of serialized tokens.Specifically, a user using a computer, such as computer 102, may run atoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B, that interactswith a software program 114, such as a web browser, to enable clients tocreate serialized tokens by naming and defining serialized tokens, andstoring the created names and definitions associated with the serializedtokens on servers for retrieval at client requests.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an operational flowchart 200 illustrating thesteps carried out by a program for generating and distributingserialized tokens is depicted. At 202, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive client requests.Specifically, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive client requests to create names and definitions forserialized tokens, delete the names and definitions associated withserialized tokens, and/or receive named and defined serialized tokens.For example, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive HTTP RESTful API requests from client applicationsto name and define serialized tokens.

Next, at 204, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine whether the received requests are for creatingnames and definitions for serialized tokens. As previously described atstep 202, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive client requests to create names and definitions forserialized tokens. For example, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive HTTP RESTful API requests from aclient application to create names and definitions for serialized tokensassociated with the World Wide Web. Therefore, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the receivedrequests are to create names and definitions for serialized tokens.

Then, at 206, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable clients to create the names and definitions for theserialized tokens. Specifically, according to one embodiment, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive theformat for distributing serialized tokens by enabling clients to createnames and definitions for serialized tokens. For example, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receivenames and definitions for serialized tokens via JavaScript ObjectNotation (JSON) data and/or Extensive Markup Language (XML) data.Furthermore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may enable users to create names for serialized tokens, such asnaming the serialized tokens as MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, and may enableusers to create definitions for the name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, such asdefining MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS as LITERAL-AA-0000 to LITERAL ZZ-9999,where 0000-9999 is a first counter and AA-ZZ is a second counter, andthe first counter and the second counter determine the order ofdistribution for the serialized tokens. Thus, according to the previousexample, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may distribute the serialized tokens based on the createddefinition by incrementing the first counter 0000-9999 in the orderdefined by users, then incrementing the second counter AA-ZZ in theorder defined by users.

For example, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may increment the first counter 0000-9999 by 1 up to 9999 (i.e.0001, 0002, 0003 . . . NNNN), then increment the second counter AA by 1up to ZZ (i.e. AA, AB, AC . . . ). Therefore, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the firstcounter 0000-9999 has a min value of 0000 and a max value of 9999, andthat the second counter has a min value of 0 and a max value of 675(i.e. based on 26 letters in the alphabet, calculated as 26*26−1).Furthermore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that the number of counting positions used by thefirst counter 0000-9999 is 4 (i.e. 4 numbers are used by the firstcounter to increment by 1) and the number of counting positions used bythe second counter AA-ZZ is 2 (i.e. 2 letters are used by the secondcounter to increment by 1). Additionally, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the symbolsused for the first counter are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and thatthe symbols used by the second counter are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J,K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Thus, according to theprevious example, the token generation and distribution program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to generate pseudocode for creating namesand definitions for serialized tokens, such as:

HTTP POST define MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS as LITERAL-C2-C1

-   -   C1 min=0, max=9999, inc=1, places=4,        -   symbols={0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}    -   C2 min=0, max=675, inc=1, places=2,    -   symbols={A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R,        S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z}.

Also, according to one embodiment, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to create non-numericdefinitions for serialized tokens. For example, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to nameserialized tokens as BEATLES, and may enable users to create definitionsfor the serialized tokens BEATLES by using 4 unique IDs, such as JOHN,PAUL, GEORGE, RINGO. Furthermore, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to increment BEATLES by 1from JOHN to RINGO in the order of JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE, RINGO. Therefore,according to the previous example, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to generate pseudocode fornaming and defining the non-numeric serialized tokens such as:

HTTP POST define BEATLES as C1

-   -   C1 min=0, max=3, inc=1, places=1,        -   symbols={‘JOHN’, ‘PAUL’, ‘GEORGE’, ‘RINGO’}.

Then, at 208, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may store the created names and definitions for serializedtokens on server databases. As previously described at step 204, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) maydetermine whether the received requests are for creating names anddefinitions for serialized tokens, and if so, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to create thenames and definitions for the serialized tokens at step 206. Forexample, and as previously described at step 204, the token generationand distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enable users to createMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, and may enable users to defineMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS as LITERAL-AA-0000 to LITERAL ZZ-9999. As such, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) mayreceive the created names and definitions for serialized tokens, thenmay store the received names and definitions for serialized tokens onserver databases for retrieval at clients' requests.

Next, at 210, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine whether the received client requests are todelete the names and definitions associated with the serialized tokens.Specifically, if the token generation and distribution program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) determines that the received clients requests are not forcreating names and definitions for serialized tokens at step 204, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) maydetermine whether the client requests are for deleting the names anddefinitions associated with serialized tokens. For example, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may have enabledusers to create names and definitions for the serialized tokens namedBEATLES. Then, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive a client request to delete the serialized tokensassociated with the name BEATLES.

Then, at 212, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may delete the names and definitions associated with theserialized tokens from the server databases. As previously described atstep 208, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may store names and definitions associated with serializedtokens on server databases. For example, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may have stored the names anddefinitions associated with the serialized tokens namedMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS. Then, as previously described at step 210, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) maydetermine that a received client request, such as HTTP DELETEMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, is a request for the server to delete the storedname and definition associated with the serialized tokens namedMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS. Therefore, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may delete the stored nameMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS and the definitions associated with the stored nameMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS from the server databases.

Next, at 214, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine whether the received client requests are requeststo receive serialized tokens. Specifically, if the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) determines that the receivedclients requests are not for generating named and defined serializedtokens at step 204, and not for deleting the named and definedserialized tokens at step 210, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine whether the received clientsrequests are requests to receive serialized tokens based on the namesand definitions. As previously described at step 208, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may store thenames and definitions associated with serialized tokens. As such, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may enableclients to use serialized tokens by receiving requests to receiveserialized tokens based on the names and definitions. For example, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may storethe names and definitions for serialized tokens, such as the nameMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, and the definition LITERAL-AA-0000 to LITERALZZ-9999. Then, at step 214, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may determine that the received clientrequest, such as HTTP GET MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, is a request to receiveserialized tokens based on the name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS and thedefinition LITERAL-AA-0000 to LITERAL ZZ-9999.

As such, at step 216, the token generation and distribution program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may read the stored name and definition from theserver databases. Thus, according to the previous example, based on thereceived client request, the token generation and distribution program108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may read the stored definition nameMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS.

Then, at step 218, the token generation and distribution program 108A,108B (FIG. 1) may format and distribute the requested serialized tokensaccording to the stored name and definition. Specifically, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may format anddistribute serialized tokens to the requesting clients based on thecreated names and definitions. Therefore, based on the previous example,the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) mayread the stored name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, then may format anddistribute MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS based on the definition LITERAL-AA-0000to LITERAL ZZ-9999.

For example, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that the client requests the next 3 serializedtokens associated with the created name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS.Furthermore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may determine that the next 3 serialized tokens associated withthe created name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, and distributed based on thedefinition LITERAL-AA-0000 to LITERAL ZZ-999, are LITERAL-AA-0056,LITERAL-AA-0057, and LITERAL-AA-0058. Therefore, the token generationand distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may format the serializedtokens based on the created name and definition by receiving thedetermined next 3 serialized tokens associated withMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS, as well as bookmarking the counting position ofthe first counter and the second counter (i.e. determining where thecounter left off, which, for this example, is at LITERAL-AA-0059).

Then, at 220, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may send responses based on the received client requests.Specifically, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may send responses based on the determinations made at steps204, 210, and 214. For example, as previously described at step 204, thetoken generation and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) mayreceive requests for creating names and definitions for serializedtokens, may enable clients to create the names and definitions, and maystore the created names and definitions on server databases at step 208.Therefore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may send a response indicating that the user's names anddefinitions for serialized tokens are generated and stored. Also, forexample, and as previously described at step 210, the token generationand distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive client requeststo delete created names and definitions for serialized tokens, and maydelete the names and definitions for serialized tokens at step 212.Therefore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may send a response indicating that the created names anddefinitions for serialized token are deleted. Furthermore, for example,and as previously described at step 214, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive client requests toreceive serialized tokens based on created names and definitions.Therefore, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may send a response that may include the requested serializedtokens according to the created name and definition.

It may be appreciated that FIG. 2 provide only illustrations of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements. According to one embodiment, in step 220, the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may send errormessages as responses to users. For example, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may receive client requests toreceive serialized tokens named MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS. However,MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS may not have remaining serialized tokens. Also, forexample, the token generation and distribution program 108A, 108B(FIG. 1) may receive a request for creating serialized tokens namedMY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS. However, the name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS may alreadybe in use. Thus, in the first example, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may send an error message as aresponse indicating that there are no more serialized tokens accordingto the definition associated with the name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS.Furthermore, in the second example, the token generation anddistribution program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may send an error message as aresponse indicating that the name MY_SERIALIZED_TOKENS is already inuse.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that FIG.3 provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

Data processing system 800, 900 is representative of any electronicdevice capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Dataprocessing system 800, 900 may be representative of a smart phone, acomputer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented bydata processing system 800, 900 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, anddistributed cloud computing environments that include any of the abovesystems or devices.

User client computer 102 (FIG. 1), and network server 112 (FIG. 1)include respective sets of internal components 800 a, b and externalcomponents 900 a, b illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the sets of internalcomponents 800 a, b includes one or more processors 820, one or morecomputer-readable RAMs 822 and one or more computer-readable ROMs 824 onone or more buses 826, and one or more operating systems 828 and one ormore computer-readable tangible storage devices 830. The one or moreoperating systems 828, the software program 114 (FIG. 1), the tokengeneration and distribution program 108A (FIG. 1) in client computer 102(FIG. 1), and the token generation and distribution program 108B(FIG. 1) in network server computer 112 (FIG. 1) are stored on one ormore of the respective computer-readable tangible storage devices 830for execution by one or more of the respective processors 820 via one ormore of the respective RAMs 822 (which typically include cache memory).In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, each of the computer-readabletangible storage devices 830 is a magnetic disk storage device of aninternal hard drive. Alternatively, each of the computer-readabletangible storage devices 830 is a semiconductor storage device such asROM 824, EPROM, flash memory or any other computer-readable tangiblestorage device that can store a computer program and digitalinformation.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b, also includes a R/W drive orinterface 832 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 936 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as a tokengeneration and distribution program 108A and 108B (FIG. 1), can bestored on one or more of the respective portable computer-readabletangible storage devices 936, read via the respective R/W drive orinterface 832 and loaded into the respective hard drive 830.

Each set of internal components 800 a, b also includes network adaptersor interfaces 836 such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fiinterface cards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired orwireless communication links. The token generation and distributionprogram 108A (FIG. 1) and software program 114 (FIG. 1) in clientcomputer 102 (FIG. 1), and the token generation and distribution program108B (FIG. 1) in network server 112 (FIG. 1) can be downloaded to clientcomputer 102 (FIG. 1) from an external computer via a network (forexample, the Internet, a local area network or other, wide area network)and respective network adapters or interfaces 836. From the networkadapters or interfaces 836, the token generation and distributionprogram 108A (FIG. 1) and software program 114 (FIG. 1) in clientcomputer 102 (FIG. 1) and the token generation and distribution program108B (FIG. 1) in network server computer 112 (FIG. 1) are loaded intothe respective hard drive 830. The network may comprise copper wires,optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches,gateway computers and/or edge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 900 a, b can include a computerdisplay monitor 920, a keyboard 930, and a computer mouse 934. Externalcomponents 900 a, b can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 800 a, b also includes device drivers840 to interface to computer display monitor 920, keyboard 930, andcomputer mouse 934. The device drivers 840, R/W drive or interface 832and network adapter or interface 836 comprise hardware and software(stored in storage device 830 and/or ROM 824).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrative cloud computing environment 400 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 400 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 400A, desktop computer 400B, laptop computer400C, and/or automobile computer system 400N may communicate. Nodes 100may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown)physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private,Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or acombination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 400 tooffer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which acloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 400A-Nshown in FIG. 4 are intended to be illustrative only and that computingnodes 100 and cloud computing environment 400 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a set of functional abstraction layers 500provided by cloud computing environment 400 (FIG. 4) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and Token Generation and Distribution 96. AToken Generation and Distribution Program 108A, 108B (FIG. 1) may beoffered “as a service in the cloud” (i.e., Software as a Service (SaaS))for applications running on mobile devices 102 (FIG. 1) and may generateand distribute serialized tokens based on client input.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

1. A computer system for generating and distributing a pluralityserialized tokens, comprising: one or more processors, one or morecomputer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable tangiblestorage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of theone or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one ormore processors via at least one of the one or more memories, whereinthe computer system is capable of performing a method comprising:receiving at least one request from at least one client, wherein thereceived at least one request comprises a plurality of data selectedfrom a group comprising JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data andExtensible Markup Language (XML); determining whether the received atleast one request is a request for generating at least one name and atleast one definition associated with the at least one name for a groupof serialized tokens; in response to the determination that the receivedat least one request is a request for generating the at least one nameand the at least one definition for the group of serialized tokens,enabling the at least one client to generate the at least one name andthe at least one definition for the group of serialized tokens, whereinthe generated at least one name and the generated at least onedefinition comprises a plurality of symbols selected from a groupcomprising a plurality of numeric symbols and a plurality of non-numericsymbols, and wherein the generated at least one definition comprises atleast one counter to determine a chronological sequence to distributethe group of serialized tokens; storing the generated at least one nameand the generated at least one definition on at least one server;determining whether the received at least one request is a request fordeleting at least one second name and at least one second definition fora second group of serialized tokens; in response to the determinationthat the received at least one request is a request to delete the atleast one second name and the at least one second definition for thesecond group of serialized tokens, deleting the at least one second nameand the at least one second definition for the second group ofserialized tokens from the at least one server; determining whether thereceived at least one request is a request for receiving the secondgroup of serialized tokens based on the at least one second name and theat least one second definition; in response to the determination thatthe received at least one request is a request for receiving the secondgroup of serialized tokens, formatting the second group of serializedtokens based on the at least one second name and the at least one seconddefinition, and distributing the second group of serialized tokens inchronological order based on the at least one counter associated withthe at least one second name and the at least one second definition,wherein a position of the at least one counter is bookmarked todetermine a next available serialized token associated with the secondgroup of serialized tokens; and sending a response to the client basedon the received at least one request, wherein the response comprises atleast one of an indication that the generated at least one name and thegenerated at least one definition are generated and stored, aconfirmation that the at least one second name and the at least onesecond definition for the second group of serialized tokens are deleted,at least one serialized token, and an error message.